Friday, June 1, 2012

Take-down at the Tony Bennett Concert


For Mother's Day, we all got dressed up and took my hubby's mom to see a Tony Bennett concert (I even wore a dress!) This was going to be one of those very laid back, mellow nights...or so we thought. As we entered the building, there was a line a mile long for all the older people who were waiting for the elevator because they couldn't walk up the stairs.

We were definitely the "young" people in the crowd. My hubby waited with his parents for the elevator (his dad is older & has a bad knee.) I headed upstairs with my sister-in-law's. We were hanging out by the elevator, knowing that it was going to be a while. All of a sudden the elevator doors open & there's loud screaming. Startled, we looked over to see two elderly men in their 80's pushing, shoving & yelling. I immediately headed towards the action, thinking (or not thinking~obviously) that I would break it up before it got worse...in my dress and all!

All of a sudden, an elderly lady gets knocked out of the elevator, and rolls across the floor, legs flailing in her dress. My immediate instinct was to get to her first before the two struggling men & people trying to get out of the elevator trampled her.

By this time the fighting had taken a whole new level. One man bashed the other man's head up against the wall and did a complete take-down move, ending up on top of him. Several younger (our age...) men rushed over trying to break it up. One of them ended up getting hit in the face.

As I leaned down to help the elderly lady, she was screaming, "He elbowed me in the chest! I want him arrested!" (Turns out her husband was the one who took the other guy down for hitting his wife in the elevator.) I was able to help her up as she kept pointing and yelling at the man, who by now had gotten up after people had separated the two men.

The man who elbowed the lady walked towards us with his wife, who I'll refer to as "Pat Benatar" (because she wore a big thick black & white headband on her forehead.)

She was bleeding out of a cut just below her eyebrow (they were kind of a quirky, weird couple.) I walked over to them (just a few steps from the elbowed lady) and told him he should apologize to the lady because he hit her in the chest & it was probably just an accident because it was so crowded in the elevator (I just wanted to fix the whole CRAZY situation.) He just stood there staring blankly at me (the lights are on but nobody's home look) which I've seen before when my son, Jullien got knocked out in a football game. I'm sure when his head hit the wall before the take-down and he probably had a concussion. Pat Benatar looked and me & said, "What about him!!" Pointing to the man who was still being held back away from her husband. The elbowed lady started up again with, "CALL THE POLICE! I want him arrested." Next thing I know, Pat Benatar & her husband quickly disappeared into the auditorium.

And can you believe...I was so busy trying to help that I missed the opportunity to get the whole thing on video! I'm sure it would've been a You Tube sensation. Seriously, when can you say you've seen two elderly men in their 80's doing a take-down move dressed in suits. At a Tony Bennett concert no less!

*Oh, and I have to say...Tony Bennett still sings great!;)


6 comments:

April said...

Oh my gosh!! That sounds sooo crazy! I can't believe it! I wish you would have gotten that on video! That would have been awesome to see!!;)

Lucy said...

That was crazy. You do have strange people in Ca. Nothing like writing material for a book of odd ball things that happen in life. Thanks for the get well wishes on my new knee.31

Lucy said...

That was crazy. You do have strange people in Ca. Nothing like writing material for a book of odd ball things that happen in life. Thanks for the get well wishes on my new knee.31

DUTA said...

We all like action, but not that kind of action described in your post. It could have ended badly as the people involved in the fight were elderly people.

Anyway, I dislike elevators and escalators but sometimes they are a must.

Debbie Petras said...

I have to say ...I love Tony Bennett and I'm not 80; lol.

I did a double take when I saw the photo of Pat Benatar. I went to high school with Pat on Long Island, NY and introduced her to Dennis Benatar who was her first husband. :) She wouldn't act like that.

You never know what's going to happen, even at a Tony Bennett concert. Thanks for stopping by Heart Choices. I can't wait to get out of the desert heat of Phoenix and put my feet in the ocean.

Blessings and love,
Debbie

Anonymous said...

UNBELIEVABLE WHEEZ! Only you and I have that kind of luck! (So much for a mellow peaceful night.) Age just doesn't mellow some people I guess (I'm still waiting for it to hit me---hee). Wonder what the rest of the "old people crew" in the elevator were thinking? "Let me out of this stinkin' elevator NOW before we all get a smack down!" Wow! The craziest part-----YOU didn't think to film it! My always "at the ready" to film or shoot ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!!! You could have been a millionaire on "Funniest Home Videos". Your once in a lifetime chance---dang it! Well, with our luck, maybe there will be another opportunity. Good for you to try to diffuse the situation (see Dad did rub off on you!) Woo woo! Love my girl! Mommy